


sappy love songs and convenience store runs

by sungshine (ujujuu)



Category: Stray Kids (Band)
Genre: 3racha are still producers, Alternate Universe - Celebrity, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, Eventual Romance, Fluff, Light Angst, M/M, Misunderstandings, Platonic Relationships, minho felix and hyunjin are in a group
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-02
Updated: 2021-03-02
Packaged: 2021-03-12 16:28:28
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,304
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29637429
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ujujuu/pseuds/sungshine
Summary: When Minho was first told by the company that they would have more creative freedom on their group’s first full album, his expectations weren’t high, especially when the only producer he was allowed to be working with had created some of his most hated songs.Little does he know, J.One will be nothing like he expected and may even become something more in his life.
Relationships: Han Jisung | Han/Lee Minho | Lee Know
Comments: 4
Kudos: 117
Collections: MINSUNG FICATHON: Round One; 2020





	sappy love songs and convenience store runs

**Author's Note:**

> i was a bit nervous since this is my first fest but i hope y'all like this fluffy oneshot! just an extra disclaimer that i don't actually know what the entertainment industry or internal workings of an entertainment company is like so everything i have here is just based off my own world/interpretation
> 
> **disclaimer:** i write fanfiction for fun and i DO NOT take ships seriously. i don't condone fetishization or forcing ships onto anyone, especially not the idols themselves. if you don't feel comfortable with any of the themes in this fic, just click away now and don't read, please do not complain about content in this fic that you would have already known about through the tags or trigger/content warnings.

“So, we actually get to contribute to the album this time?" Minho asked, staring pointedly at the company rep as he tapped his fingers agitatedly on the table in front of him.

The company representative cleared his throat, sliding a piece of paper in front of Minho.

“Those are the guidelines, I'm sure you will find them loose enough so that you will have some freedom with the creative process, but you will have to work with the usual producer and songwriter, J.One, to, ah," he waved a hand dismissively at Minho, "keep with your group's concept.”

Minho narrowed his eyes, grabbing the paper from the table and struggling to not crumple it in his hands in frustration. The sheet had a long winding list of bullet points on what they were not allowed to write about and at the end, the contact information of the producer of many of their hit songs, J.One. Minho couldn't say he hated the man, especially since he was part of the reason behind their success, but there was definitely some level of built up resentment towards the cheesy love pop songs that had shot them to the top of the charts. Out of all the members, it was only Felix that liked some of their title tracks, and even then, that number was limited.

“The company is giving you a generous amount of time, say about," the company rep tapped on his phone to check, "three months to complete the album. You'll be primarily working with J.One but the whole 3RACHA team will also be working with you guys and the other members to be more efficient.”

Minho sighed, pushing back from the table to stand, taking the paper along with him.

“I'll be sure to contact him soon," he said, pocketing his phone before leaving the meeting room.

It seemed weird to Minho that the company would suddenly be allowing their group, BOYFRND, to contribute to their album directly after four years of not even allowing them to participate in the slightest in any of their songs or concepts, but he would take the chance when he could. Who knows when the company would go back on their word like the multiple promises they had made before to let them participate in concept, styling, or makeup decisions. He still doesn't understand how Felix's scalp was surviving two years straight of platinum blonde and a plethora of various hair colors, but he prayed for him every time the company decided to bleach his hair every few weeks to keep up with a new comeback.

He had never actually met any of 3RACHA despite J.One making the majority of their title tracks and the producing team arranging many of their other tracks, but he supposed that he will have to meet with them now.

Minho:

Hey! This is Lee Know, the leader of BOYFRND. The management let me know today that we’ll be working with you to produce songs for our new album, so please let me know when and where you would like to meet up to go over what we would like to do.

Too formal? Maybe, but Minho didn't want to take any chances in case J.One turned out to be some musty old man with a superiority complex who never experienced love. It would certainly explain the cheesy and quite frankly disgustingly cringey lines that are in so many of their title tracks. Who the fuck thought "kiss you like a cloud, let me melt in your mouth in cotton candy" should ever be lyrics that should be sung out loud?

Minho headed back to the dorm, intent on taking a nap before having to deal with whoever the fuck J.One turned out to be.

He blinked awake blearily after what felt like only twenty minutes of eye closure, pawing at the side of his pillow to grab his phone and squinting at the brightness of the screen as he turned it on. His power nap had inadvertently turned into a full six hours of sleep, but it would have been much better if he had just slept straight through until the morning. Instead, some text notification on his phone had woken up at 4 am in the morning. He glared at his phone as he opened up the app and stared at the new messages.

J.One:

hey man uh

im sorrry i diddnt see this i ws out with my hyng earlier

im ok with whnever! theres a cafe near my apartment we can meet if u like :D

  
  


So, J.One obviously wasn't some musty old man, but the lack of professionalism in his messages really put Minho off. Minho knew that he needed to at least try to stay in his good graces if he wanted to have creative control over his songs in the new album, so he mentally gritted his teeth and typed out a polite reply to the frankly appalling amount of typos in the return messages.

Minho:

Great! How about tomorrow morning at 11 am at the cafe you were talking about? Send me the address when you can!

J.One:

yyea! heres the address:

Glad to know that J.One keeps weird late hours and at least replied immediately to his messages, Minho slapped his phone face down after setting a quick alarm for 10 am, letting the early morning exhaustion pull him back into sleep.

  
  


...

  
  


Sitting in the corner of the cafe, Minho squinted at the glare reflecting off the screen of his phone. Choosing the window seat was probably not one of his better ideas, but with his black mask and cap on, he knew that he needed to choose a decently conspicuous spot for J.One to see him.

Minho's brows furrowed underneath his cap as he double-checked his messages again. It was already 11:30 am and the producer hadn't even so much as texted him to let him know that he would be late. The ice in Minho's usual order of an iced Americano had long melted in the plastic cup in front of him, the coffee now watery and bland whenever he sipped on it, condensation pooling into a small puddle on the worn wooden table.

Suddenly, someone plopped into the seat in front of him, their order settling on the table with a clatter of ice as he panted breathlessly as if he had just ran here. Minho looked up with a start, eyes meeting with the man in front of him.

His ashy blond hair was haphazardly stuffed under a white beanie, the ends of his hair sticking out awkwardly under the material as he settled onto the seat, fidgeting with the sleeves of his black hoodie as he caught his breath and set a notebook down on the table. He squeezed his eyes shut tight once before blinking rapidly and looking up at Minho through his doe-like lashes. He looked so much younger than Minho had expected. Was someone like this really the person behind all of their hit mini albums and title tracks?

“Hey man, I’m really sorry, I’m really not a morning person and I know this is supposed to be a professional meeting or whatever, but like, oh my god, I’m sorry…” he trailed off with a mumble as he met Minho’s unimpressed glare.

“J.One-ssi, you are more than thirty minutes late to a ‘professional’ meeting as you say, dressed in pajamas,” Minho snapped, letting out an exasperated sigh as he slapped his phone down onto the table, “I could be doing much more worthwhile things while you were… presumably still lazing around in bed?”

J.One licked his chapped lips, his teeth chewing on his lower lip nervously as he smoothed clammy hands over the gray fabric of his sweatpants.

“Look, I really am sorry, Lee Know-ssi, and um,” he glanced around, “would it be possible to move this somewhere less… public? I know I chose this spot, but, ah, I think some people are paying a bit too much attention to us. Perhaps we could go to the neighboring park?”

Minho could sense the curious stares of a few people around them and let out a frustrated sigh, grabbing his bland Americano from the table before stalking out of the cafe, not even looking back to check if the other man had followed. He could hear the sounds of him scrambling to follow, frantic steps echoing behind him as they both left the warmth of the cafe into the icy breeze of November winter Seoul. 

They settled on a bench somewhere near the far end of the park after brushing off the leftover slush from last night’s snowfall. They sat in silence for a moment before it was broken with a swish of ice from Minho’s cup. Jisung turned and offered his hand.

“Since we’ll be working together please just call me Jisung,” he said, “can I call you hyung?”

Minho looked strangely at him and Jisung’s smile faltered, the corners of his mouth turning down slightly as he drew his hand back.

“Alright, got it, I’ll stick to calling you Lee Know-ssi.”

Minho hesitated for a second, staring at the icy brick as he gathered his thoughts. He didn’t look at the other man as he spoke.

“Did you really have to write Cotton Candy Love for our debut title? You took a look at me, Felix, and Hyunjin and decided that cheesy, sappy _bullshit_ should be our concept?” Minho hissed. “With Love and Peppermint Kiss were even worse, Hyunjin almost had to get a _perm_ to fit with what management wanted. Don’t even get me _started_ on some of our b-sides, I had to do aegyo on stage, _disgusting_.”

He paused his tirade for a moment to catch his breath, clouds of steam drifting in the cold air as turned to stare at Jisung. 

The look on his face was carefully blank but Jisung’s teeth were chattering as he finished and it was only then that Minho registered that the other man was wearing slides without socks and his feet were turning alarmingly pale in the cold winter air. It was also obvious now that he was paying attention, that Jisung wasn’t wearing anything underneath his hoodie and the bagginess of the fabric only made it easier for a draft to rush up the loose bottom hem and make him shiver. 

“Look, I’m,” Jisung’s brow furrowed as he clutched his arms around in a desperate attempt to keep warm, “I’m really sorry you don’t like any of the songs I wrote for you guys, but your debut… that was just a random demo I submitted that your company picked,” his lips twisted into a wry smile, “That’s what your company started requesting from me ever since and as much as I enjoy writing unique concepts and lyrics, I have to make a living somehow, don’t I? I don’t hate writing generic shit, but I am sometimes just as much under the whim of companies as you are, Lee Know-ssi.”

Minho felt a twinge of guilt as he recognized the hurt in Jisung’s voice. He knew that he couldn’t take back his words now and he still felt a bit affronted by the other man’s unprofessional attitude earlier, but he hated being the reason for the dejected expression on Jisung’s face.

“... Boxer and Grr weren’t too bad though,” Minho mumbled, “The beat in Easy was really nice to dance to as well. I think something along those lines for the new album would be good.” 

Minho glanced over at Jisung who raised an eyebrow at him in response, humming contemplatively as he jotted something down on the Notes app of his phone, suddenly professional in a way Minho hadn’t seen before.

“Alright, that’s something I can work with-” he sneezed abruptly, barely having the time to cover his mouth with the sleeve of his hoodie to stop his snot from dripping down.

“Shit, I’m sorry, this is so-” Jisung sneezed again and Minho could see tears gathering in the corner of his eyes from how hard it was. He hesitated for a moment before he unraveled his own woolen scarf and looped it around Jisung’s neck, tucking the ends into the neck of his hoodie. He fished out a spare tissue from his pocket and held it up to Jisung’s nose before he registered what he was doing. Minho shoved the tissue into Jisung’s hands, stuffing his own hands into his pockets as Jisung stared at him in surprise.

“Don’t get the wrong idea,” Minho sniffed and looked away, “Can’t have you getting sick when we haven’t even started working on the album.”

Jisung huffed out a quiet laugh, using the given tissue to clean up his nose. 

“Look, I know today hasn’t been the greatest meeting so do you want to meet up at our studio next time to go over things? I’m free next Saturday at the same time if you want.”

Minho quickly checked the calendar on his phone and grimaced. That Saturday had schedules all morning and afternoon, but he wanted to get started on this as soon as possible.

“Actually, does 10 pm work for you? My schedule is pretty busy that day.”

Jisung glanced over his phone calendar, nodding in agreement and marking it down before they went their separate ways.

  
  


...

  
  
  


Jisung swiveled around in the chair to face him as he walked in and waved a hand in greeting, gesturing towards the stool next to him for Minho to sit down. He seemed much more put together than last time, wearing proper pants and shoes and even had his hair done. 

“Here, I put together a few tracks since our last meeting and I think some of them could be workable. Let me know what you think?”

Minho settled down on the stool, tucking his bag underneath the table and listened as Jisung clicked around his laptop screen and played a few tracks. There was a wide range of genres, from an upbeat, strong tempoed track like Minho had mentioned to something softer, more melodic with synth in the back. Truth be told, Minho’s expectations hadn’t been that high considering how frazzled Jisung had seemed the last time they had met, but a few of the tracks that he had created were so captivating that Minho already found himself humming along to them and visualizing what movements would fit best with certain parts.

The last track finished playing and Minho still had his eyes closed. Silence stretched out in the room but he was still fully immersed in the melody and his own visualizations. The swivel chair squeaked next to him and Minho startled awake, finally noticing that Jisung was staring anxiously at him, his teeth worrying his bottom lip.

“Were any of those good?” he asked, twisting his hands in the fabric of his hoodie, “Be brutally honest, I don’t mind. I can totally go back and rework some of the tracks or I can go put together something new or if you wanted me to ask my friends to see if they have something better… “

Minho blinked at him as Jisung rambled on nervously.

“No, no, these were really good,” he interrupted, “I was just thinking about what moves would go with some of the tracks and got lost in my own head.”

Jisung visibly calmed down, breathing a sigh of relief and moving his cursor away from where it had been hovering over the trash bin icon. 

“Okay, thank god. Let me know which tracks you liked the most and we can get started on those and see how it goes?”

He dragged a few of the tracks that Minho picked out into a separate folder and they began working together. It was mostly Jisung making adjustments and then listening to Minho’s feedback and comments and then making further changes based on them. An hour into the session Jisung had pulled on his headphones, fully concentrating on the tracks while Minho sat quietly at the side making small notes on his phone.

Now that Minho was finally meeting Jisung when he was in a better mood and where Jisung was clearly in his element, Minho took the opportunity to observe Jisung while he was distracted. Minho noticed how his cheeks puffed out slightly while he bit on his lips in concentration and his eyes had narrowed slightly, from his usual more doe-like eyes to sharp and intense. It was clear that Jisung was passionate about what he does and passion was attractive, especially to ambition-driven Minho.

He quickly shook himself from his thoughts. There was no way he would start anything with a colleague, particularly one that was in the same industry as him. Not only was it a risk on the publicity front, but it could also destroy future career opportunities for both parties if it ended on a bad note.

Minho grabbed a pen and a few sheets of scratch paper from the table next to him instead, jotting down his thoughts on potential concepts and dance themes.

The time passed quickly with the two of them working side by side and it was way past midnight before either of them had noticed. They were still fully immersed in their own work when Minho's stomach growled, breaking the comfortable silence that had filled the studio. Jisung, having taken off his headphones by then, turned to look at him.

"You okay, Lee Know-ssi? I might have something in the mini fridge if you want."

Minho shook his head, embarrassed that he had interrupted their workflow.

"No, I'm fine. I'll just grab something from the convenience store on the way back to the dorm-" His stomach growled again.

Jisung furrowed his brow, his gaze turning slightly concerned as he watched Minho pat his stomach in a desperate attempt to calm it down.

"Didn't you say you pretty much had a full schedule today? Please tell me you ate all three meals."

"Yeah, I had breakfast and lunch at the venue and then," Minho trailed off, "Fuck, I had to skip dinner for dance practice."

He glanced back at Jisung, who was looking increasingly worried.

"Well," Jisung began slowly, "It's late and I was just about finished up anyways so I'm going to head to the convenience store right now if you want to come along?"

"I'll be fine, really," Minho protested, but Jisung rolled his eyes, clicking save on his current track before closing his laptop.

"Too bad, _I'm_ hungry so you're coming with me," he huffed, already grabbing his bag and pulling on his beanie.

They walked to the convenience store in silence. The burnout from the day of full schedules had finally hit Minho on the way and he was dragging his feet slightly by the time they reached it and entered.

They went their separate ways in the store, convening at the shaky folding tables out front once they had gathered their food.

"Here, I got this for you," Jisung mumbled.

He extended a hand towards Minho, offering him a small ice cream cup.

"You got mint chocolate ice cream for me in December? It's literally less than zero degrees out right now," Minho asked incredulously.

"That's what your profile said that you liked to eat so I-" Jisung flushed red, clearly flustered as he dropped his outstretched hand, "forget about it, I'll just eat it myself."

Minho reached out to snatch the cup from Jisung before he could shove it into his bag.

"I never pass up free food, and besides," Minho said as he ripped off the plastic seal, "the official profile wasn't wrong, I do love mint chocolate chip. I’m just surprised you even check stuff like that. I didn’t take you as a fan."

Jisung grumbled wordlessly, settling down on a folding chair at the table with a small bowl of instant tteokbokki. They scarfed down their food, the only noises the sound of them chewing and the occasionally deep breath of cold air as they took breaks in between bites.

“So,” Minho started, “What did you do before becoming a producer? Did you get a degree, went straight into this out of highschool…?”

Jisung struggled to swallow down the huge bite that he had taken, his cheeks puffing out slightly as he gulped.

“Um, I was actually a trainee for about a year straight out of high school,” Jisung said with a wry smile, “I was at the same company as you are now, but I wasn’t exactly the most memorable so I’m not surprised you don’t remember me.”

Minho blinked in surprise, pointing a finger at himself and tilting his head, as if to say _me?_

“Yeah, I was always hiding out in the corner of the room during dance practices and was too intimidated to talk to you. In hindsight, maybe things would’ve been different if I had approached you. I always knew you were a really great mentor for the younger ones, but I,” Jisung shook his head, “I guess I found my passions elsewhere and that’s okay, yanno? I always knew you were talented, so I’m glad the industry recognized it and you’re at where you’re at, even if you hate all the songs I wrote for you.”

“Hey, I already said I don’t-”

“Shh, let me have this,” Jisung grinned at him, “then I can brag to everyone that Lee Know of BOYFRND knows who I am because of the songs I wrote.”

They fell into a comfortable silence, staring up as snow began to drift down from the ink-black sky, the steam rising from the remaining soup in their respective containers slowly petering out as the heat dissipated.

  
  


…

  
  


From then on, studio work sessions turned-convenience store runs became a regular occurrence for the duo, and it wasn’t long before convenience store runs became normal hangouts. Somewhere along the way, Minho had decided that Lee Know-ssi felt too stiff for him and told Jisung to just call him hyung. 

Dinners at actual restaurants came in lieu of shitty instant food from convenience stores. Minho insisted on taking Jisung out to get actual filling food once he discovered that Jisung practically lived off of store-bought frozen dinners and party-sized bags of corn chips and onion rings when he was in the depths of his working phases. Those dinners gradually shifted into lunches together when they were both free, Minho making sure that Jisung finished off all of his chicken sandwich so he didn’t have any free stomach to eat processed junk later. Don’t get him wrong though, Minho just didn’t want his group’s album’s main producer to get sick in the middle of working on it. That was the _only_ reason, obviously. The one time Hyunjin dared to question his intentions, he got a tissue shoved up his mouth _and_ his nose and it was all quiet after that on all fronts.

He had grown fond of Jisung and he knew it in the back of his mind, but he refused to acknowledge it, not verbally at least. It showed through in his actions whether he wanted it to or not.

Minho insisted on taking Jisung out to the zoo the one time they had an international special, featuring animals from different countries for a week each time. He had grown fond of calling Jisung a quokka and Jisung complained that he didn’t see the resemblance, but Minho knew that the puffy cheeks he had whenever he ate were reminiscent of just that one animal. 

He just couldn’t let Jisung work in the studio for half a day on _Christmas_ of all days no matter how much Jisung insisted he didn’t celebrate the holiday. Minho had showed up at 8 pm that night, two cups of hot chocolate in hand as he dragged Jisung outside to stroll through the Christmas light displays that were set up in the park. (Jisung had laughed, pointing at the fateful bench where they had settled that very first meeting. “I almost froze to death right here, hyung, and it was all your fault.” “Shut up, you still haven’t returned that scarf I gave you.”)

Minho’s first impression of Jisung had shattered long ago, ever since that post-first work session convenience store run when he had shyly gifted Minho that small cheap cup of mint chocolate ice cream that admittedly hadn’t tasted the best, but he had appreciated nonetheless. Jisung’s passion and work ethic genuinely impressed him (he could see the focus and fire in his eyes whenever they worked in the studio together), but the one time Minho had mentioned it to Jisung, he laughed it off, commenting that “I actually used to be cocky as fuck, it’s actually Changbin-hyung who made me like this.”

In turn, Minho began noticing the little things Jisung would leave him whenever they met up. A small reusable ice pack in the shape of a bunny that one time after he had complained that his wrist was sprained and swollen. A pack of expensive steak and organic chicken breasts (the exact brand Minho usually ate) after he had complained that Hyunjin and Felix had been taking his food out of the fridge for themselves without asking. Even a pair of tickets to the premiere of an upcoming anime movie that Minho had only mentioned _once_ that Jisung had somehow committed to memory despite his usual forgetfulness.

("I thought you were the struggling artist here, not me. Why're you spending money on me?" Minho asked.

Jisung puffed out his cheeks, flapping the tickets around.

"I thought you wanted to see this movie though? Besides, I already spent money on them so we might as well go. They're my gift to you so you can go to the premiere with someone else if you would rather."

Minho furrowed his brows at that, snatching the tickets away before Jisung accidentally dropped them.

"You're a fucking idiot, of course we should go together," Minho said, gently hitting the back of Jisung's head with the tickets. Jisung pretended to cower away before beaming back at Minho, his cheeks full and round and his eyes sparkling with joy.

"Besides," Minho scoffed, "who else would I go to the premiere with? All the other members are busy anyways."

Jisung's smile faltered slightly, but he hooked an arm around Minho's neck, crushing them together in a hug.

"I knew you loved me, hyung!"

"Shut the fuck up, don't take this the wrong way. You already bought the tickets so we might as well use them.")

And then there was just the easy way they fell into each other, like they were long lost souls finally finding their rightful place instead of just a pair of colleagues shoved together by management. As much as Minho hated to admit it, being around Jisung just felt right

Minho had bumped into and gotten properly introduced to the other two members of Jisung's producing team and even they had commented on the obvious favoritism that Minho refused to admit. Knowing Jisung's unhealthy fasting whenever he got into the depths of working, he always picked up a snack or two whenever he headed to the studio and inevitably he had eventually met Chan and Changbin, who welcomed the glorious sustenance with open hands. Their meetings became a common occurrence, but most of the time, Minho still only brought food and drinks for Jisung, claiming that his hands were too weak to carry more things with him and that he needed to conserve strength for dance practices.

(Minho entered the studio, settling on the couch behind the members with a carton of drinks and a bag of pastries in hand. He set it down on the small coffee table before flopping back against the cushions, content to idly watch the others work while he took a small breather.

"You actually brought us something this time? Minho finally blesses us with the same gracious generosity he grants to his favored one."

Minho rolled his eyes, shoving the carton towards Chan as he bent over to grab an americano.

"Yeah, yeah, whatever, I'm just trying to make sure you guys don't starve because _some people_ ," he stresses, sending a pointed look at Jisung's back where he was turned away with his noise-cancelling headphones in, "have _no_ self preservation when it comes to work."

Jisung turned around as if he had a six sense, immediately lighting up when he saw Minho. He rolled towards him on the chair, coming to a stop in front of the table.

"Hyung!" he said, tugging his headphones off one ear as he reached for a pastry, "You brought food for us?"

Changbin walked over as well, snatching a pastry from the bag. He rolled his eyes as he opened the packaging.

"You mean he brought food for _you_ and we were just the afterthought he couldn't ignore for too long," he huffed, taking a bite out of the flaky pastry.

Minho narrowed his eyes, snatching the rest of the pastries away from the table to Chan's protest.

"Since my efforts aren't appreciated, I might as well not try next time," he sighed, pretending to pack away the bag, "You guys can starve for all I care."

"Hyung," Jisung whined, his cheeks stuffed full of cream and bread, his words muffled by the sheer volume of food he had packed into his mouth, "Please keep bringing food, I'll love you forever?"

Jisung's eyes were wide and sparkling as he idly chewed at the pastry inside his mouth, his hands clasped hopefully in front of his chest. The look in his eyes was soft and sincere and Minho could feel the tips of his ears burning bright red as they stared at each other, frozen in place. Jisung's hair was messy and crushed flat by the beanie he had been wearing, his face slightly shiny in the way that it was after a hard day of work, but Minho was still ever so fond of the way he tilted his head while thinking and the way his lashes fluttered as he blinked pleadingly at Minho. Someone cleared their throat and Minho flinched, broken out of his reverie.

"Alright alright, break it up here, boys. Y'all can take this outside if you're gonna make this a date. I don't want to third wheel here and I doubt Chan hyung wants to either," Changbin huffs, pushing back towards the soundboard to get back to work.

Jisung swallowed the last of the pastry in his mouth, smiling at Minho before grabbing a cup of iced Americano from the carton.

"You should stay, hyung. We're working on one of the tracks for your next album, so it would be good to get your feedback too."

Jisung took a sip of the coffee before he left it on the table, rolling his way back to the soundboard as well.

Minho settled back on the couch, ready to listen to whatever 3RACHA had finished and was about to show him.)

And then there were the times where Minho visited Jisung when he was alone at the studio. He was always making up stupid excuses to visit him. His personal favorite was just to bring him food because Jisung could literally work through multiple meals a day if he was too focused on a particular track. One morning, Minho had fallen asleep on the back couch as Jisung had worked, waking up a full eight hours later to see Jisung still working on the same track he had started on that morning and he hadn't moved an inch from his original position.

"Jisung?" Minho mumbled, rubbing the sleep out of his eyes, "What time is it?"

Minho hauled himself off the bed, laying across Jisung's back in an attempt to get his attention. Jisung flinched, taking off one headphone and turning to look at him properly.

"What is it, hyung?"

"What time is it?" Minho repeated, letting his head fall tiredly on Jisung's shoulder.

Jisung flipped his phone over to check, his eyes widening at the late time.

"Oh shit, it's already 9 pm. You slept almost ten hours," Jisung looked worriedly at Minho, "Did you not sleep last night, hyung?"

With a double dance practice and an additional vocal lesson on top to practice for an upcoming OST release, Minho had a pitiful thirty minutes, barely even a power nap that had only given him enough rest to haul himself from the dorms to the studio before falling asleep again. Minho shook his head, sighing tiredly into Jisung's neck. A loud growling noise came from Jisung's stomach and he looked away, embarrassed.

Minho narrowed his eyes at Jisung.

"Have you not eaten dinner yet?"

"Uh," Jisung mumbled, "I kinda forgot to eat since you've gotten here?"

Minho came back to complete alertness at that, all of the remaining lethargy leaving his body.

"You fucking dumbass," he hissed, gently slapping Jisung on the back of his head, "You haven't eaten all day?"

Jisung smiled sheepishly, dodging the second slap Minho aimed his way. Minho glared at him, grabbing his wallet and phone from the coffee table.

"We're going out right now," Minho said, shrugging on his jacket, "I don't care if you have a death wish, skipping all your meals every day, but I need to make sure the producer of my album doesn't die when they haven't completed it yet."

Jisung grabbed his hoodie, trailing after Minho without protest as they left the studio for food.

"Hyung," he whined, grabbing onto Minho's arm, "Are you saying you would just let me starve if I wasn't your producer?"

"That's fucking right," Minho said, rolling his eyes and pretending to pull his arm away, "You're an annoying little brat when you're not professional."

Jisung pouted at him, tightening his grip on Minho's sleeve. Minho let him hook his arm through, the two of them walking down the street to their usual convenience store.

"What am I like when I _am_ professional then?"

"You…," Minho thought for a moment. There was just something about that look of focus and dedication in Jisung's eyes that was really admirable. Although he was young, even younger than Minho, it was clear as day to anyone around him that he was talented and passionate about music and what he does. Maybe it was just because Minho really valued hard work, but something about Jisung's capability and talent was just almost... attractive to him.

"Hyung?"

Minho snapped out of his thoughts, looking at Jisung who was staring up at him with wide, hopeful eyes.

"If you can't think of anything good to say about me, that's fine," Jisung pouted, looking back down and scuffing his feet as they walked, "I know I can be overbearing sometimes."

"No, no, I was just thinking," Minho nudged him with his shoulder to make Jisung look at him, "It's pretty admirable how talented you are and," he pretended to gag, "You can be cute... on occasion."

"You think I'm cute?" Jisung beamed at him, a little bounce in his step now, "Are you sure you don't like me, hyung?"

Minho patted his own chest when his heart skipped a beat for a moment, confused as to why his ears were beginning to feel like they were burning. He scoffed at Jisung, turning his head away in mock protest.

"You're not denying it," Jisung said, a teasing smile on his face, "You like me, don't you?"

"I take it back, you're an annoying little brat all the time.”

"Hey!"

  
  


…

  
  


As time drew closer to their comeback date, Minho and Jisung met up more and more, both for work and personal reasons. They were putting the final touches on the tracks in the album and the company had been teaching the group the dances for the title track and b-side they were promoting on music shows in a few weeks, but hanging out with Jisung helped Minho forget about the stress that came with being an idol.

It was one of their usual weekly "friend-dates" (Jisung wanted to call them dates, Minho adamantly refused to do so) and Minho had just finished showering after the group's usual dance practice, throwing on a casual outfit to meet up with Jisung.

"Guys, I'm gonna head out to meet up with Jisungie. I'll be home later so don't wait up for me," he called out.

Hyunjin popped his head out into the hallway, his hair still damp from his own shower.

"Jisung? I thought you hated that dude and now you guys are going out on _dates_?"

"They're not _dates_ ," Minho hissed.

Hyunjin raised a doubtful eyebrow at him. Minho paused in the doorway, his hand raised threateningly.

"You want me to stuff a tissue up your mouth again?"

"Oh my god, chill, I was just pointing out the obvious."

Minho ducked down to grab a shoe, throwing it in Hyunjin's direction before huffing indignantly and heading out of the dorms, his ears flushing a bright red that he refused to acknowledge.

He reached the studio in no time, settling on his usual spot on the couch. Jisung turned when Minho came in, smiling and waving at him in greeting before plopping down on the cushions right next to him, squeezing in close to cuddle up against his side.

"Don't you have stuff to do?" Minho asked, "I thought deadlines were coming up soon."

"Yeah, but I just like being with you, hyung," Jisung said, nuzzling his face against Minho's shoulder. Their sides were pressed together, the warmth radiating from Jisung's thigh a sharp contrast to the chill of his cold hands resting on Minho's. His heart fluttered, the feeling in his chest tightening in a way that it never had before. His thoughts went back to earlier today, when Hyunjin had pointed out that these platonic hang-outs were clearly dates. Somewhere in the back of his head, Minho knew that he was right and that the weird heart-fluttering sensations he always had whenever Jisung smiled at him or got close to him weren't the oncoming heart condition he had told himself he had. But there was too much risk associated with following those thoughts and so Minho had pushed them to the back of his mind.

"Hyung?" Jisung whispered, glancing up at him, "Are you okay? You seem really tense."

Minho let a breath out that he didn't realize he was holding, suddenly noticing that his entire body was tense and stiff. He knew that his ears must be red by now and he untangled his hands from Jisung.

"If you're uncomfortable with how we hang out and stuff, I'll cut it out," Jisung pursed his lips, staring resolutely down at his lap, "I know I can be annoying and lack boundaries sometimes so."

Jisung shifted away from Minho, leaving the space next to Minho's thigh cold and empty. He immediately missed the feeling, but his anxious thoughts were already running away from him and he knew that the blank expression on his face was making Jisung more nervous by the second.

Minho stood up abruptly, his heart racing as he contemplated his options. There was no way he could come to terms with his own confused emotions with Jisung right next to him, but he also didn't want to discuss anything with Jisung without knowing what he really felt and considering the pros and cons of his situation. Jisung looked up at him, his hand slowly coming up to grab onto Minho’s arm.

"Hyung?" Jisung whispered, his eyes wide and fearful. His grip on the corner of Minho's sleeve tightened, like he was scared that if he let go, Minho would disappear on him forever.

"I'm sorry, Jisung," Minho muttered, "This isn't on you, I'm just... I don't know what I'm thinking. I'll text you later, okay?"

He pulled his sleeve out of Jisung's grasp with a sharp tug and rushed out of the room, resolutely not looking at what he knew was a heartbreakingly hurt expression on Jisung's face.

Minho's thoughts were a jumbled mess as he walked back home, the cold air doing nothing to help clear his thoughts like they usually did. Instead, the wind felt icy and piercing on his face, bordering on painful.

He reached the apartment building of the dorm, taking the elevator up and quickly punching in the passcode before striding in, his steps echoing loudly on the tiled floor of the entrance.

Felix popped up over the top of the couch, looking dazed from his nap and confused, his blond hair a ruffled mess.

"I thought you went out to meet up with Jisung?" he said, "You're back already?"

Minho ignored his question, pulling his shoes off roughly and yanking his jacket off, dumping it haphazardly on the floor. His mind was a tangled mess and he could barely breathe normally as he walked towards his room. He didn't want to think right now, much less talk to someone.

Felix grabbed his wrist as he passed by him, his grip tightening when Minho tried to tug himself out of his hand. He looked concernedly at Minho, his eyes filled with worry.

"Let go of me," Minho hissed, "I don't want to deal with this right now."

"Hyung, what's wrong?" Felix asked, "Did Jisung do something?"

"Nothing happened. I'm just being stupid again," Minho sighed.

Felix frowned, tugging on his arm to lead him around the couch to sit next to him.

"You can tell me anything, hyung. We're in this together you know?" he said, patting Minho's hand comfortingly, "What happened?"

Minho hesitated for a moment. There was really nothing that could go worse and Felix had always been accepting and good with his advice. If he couldn’t find a solution to his problem, at least Felix could help him figure out his emotions.

"I... I panicked and left without saying anything," Minho groaned, "I think I always knew in the back of my mind that I felt... something more for Jisung. I'm sure all of you noticed except for me."

"You can say that again," Hyunjin said, walking into the living room area, "I'm the densest fucking person on the planet and I somehow figured this out before you did, hyung."

"Hyunjin!" Felix scolded.

"No, I needed to hear that," Minho said with a sigh, "But I just think that things would be better for all of us if I don't try to have something more with Jisung."

Felix and Hyunjin glanced at each other, an unspoken message passing between them before they both looked at Minho again.

"Hyung..." Hyunjin said, "We can tell you know? Whenever you hold yourself back for the sake of the group, whenever you give up solo opportunities so that you can focus more on group activities. We can see that you sacrifice so much for this group as the leader and I think Felix and I can both agree that you deserve to have this, if anything."

"But-"

"No, no buts," Felix said, "We can tell that Jisung makes you happy in a way that we can't and you _both_ deserve at least a chance at this."

Felix's phone lit up with a notification and he reached over to check it. Minho leaned back against the back of the couch, his head tilted backwards to look at the ceiling.

"Minho hyung? Why did Chan just text me to ask why Jisung told him that he should take over the producing for the rest of your b-sides? He also said that Jisung said he's sorry."

"That fucking _idiot_ ," Minho hissed, sitting up properly to confirm the message on Felix's phone, "I'm the one at fault here. Why the fuck is he apologizing?"

"Maybe he thought that he made you uncomfortable?" Felix sighed, "Either way, you should've texted Jisung as soon as you left. He's probably overthinking things just as much as you are."

Minho sighed, fishing his phone out of his pocket and hurriedly sending out a message.

minho:

hey jisung

are u free at 9 pm today

Minho was ready to wait a long time for it, but the reply came immediately.

jisung:

oh

where?

Minho sent the address of the park they had met at that very first time and settled down to wait the extra hour until he could see Jisung again. He wasn’t quite sure what he wanted to say other than a sincere apology, but he knew that he wanted Jisung to know how he felt.

  
  


...

  
  


The park was mostly empty when Minho arrived and he quickly spotted Jisung standing near the entrance, his usual yellow hoodie looking baggy against his tiny frame. Minho’s shoes crunched on the wet grass and Jisung turned, their eyes meeting in an instant.

They stared at each other for a moment, with the energy of two people who both wanted to say something, but didn't know how to express how they feel. The look on Jisung's face was carefully blank and it sent a weird pang through Minho's heart to see his normally animated expressions suddenly gone.

"Hey."

"Hey," Jisung replied softly.

Minho gestured awkwardly in the general direction of the park.

"We should find somewhere to sit and talk," he said. Jisung nodded in agreement and they entered the park, walking until they reached the area with benches lining the concrete path.

They both settled on the park bench, steam from their breath wafting upwards in the cold air. They sat in silence for a moment and Minho gulped audibly, knowing he had to say something soon.

He resolutely kept his gaze down, too scared to look at Jisung's expression.

"Jisung, I'm really sorry for leaving like that," Minho said, his hands tense and clammy by his sides, "I was a fucking idiot and overthought myself into a spiral when really, things could have been much simpler. I was scared that saying anything about my feelings would only lead to the both of us getting hurt if it somehow became public news. I'm sorry that I hurt you and I understand if you want to take a break from hanging out or... " he gulped nervously, "Or if you don't want to be friends anymore."

It was silent for a moment and the tension stretched on between the two of them before Jisung spoke.

"Hyung," Jisung said softly, taking Minho's hands into his own, "I could never stay mad at you, you know that right? And I don't know if that's what you were hinting at, but... I like you too."

Minho looked back up at him in surprise. Jisung was smiling, the expression on his face gentle yet hesitant. In this moment, he looked his age, young and slightly unsure of himself, and he licked his chapped lips nervously. Jisung squeezed his hands before taking a deep breath.

"I get how it might be scary considering our careers and especially your public reputation, but I guess one benefit that comes from two guys dating is that no one will really know," he said.

They both huffed a small laugh at that. Minho smiled hesitantly back at Jisung.

"I guess we can keep going on our dates then," Minho said, "No one will know."

"At least you're finally calling our dates actual dates," Jisung said, rolling his eyes, "I really thought you only considered me a friend with how much you insisted on that. Besides, food is the real way to my heart and you've been pretty good at spoiling me."

"I knew you were in it just for the free food," Minho huffed in faux indignation, "Can I bribe my favorite producer back with some convenience store rabokki?"

"Oh my god, I almost forgot that I texted Chan hyung that," Jisung groaned, his face flushed in embarrassment, "It was a moment of weakness, okay? I was scared of seeing you the next day."

"I'm not going to lie, you had me scared for a second," Minho said, "But it was my fault too, so I think we should just agree that we both had a part in this."

Jisung nodded, lacing their fingers together, Minho's warmth against Jisung's icy hands.

"Still though, I'm worried how we're going to keep this under wraps," Minho sighed, "Especially with some of our fans getting more and more obsessed... I don't want anything to happen to you."

"I can handle myself, hyung," Jisung said, smoothing his thumb over Minho's knuckles, "We'll be fine. We can make this work."

They sat in silence for a moment, just basking in each other's presence, soft flakes of snow beginning to drift down around them. Minho glanced at Jisung, catching his eye and smiling at him gently. He cupped both his hands around Jisung's, trying his best to keep them warm. The world was quiet, any noises muffled by the layer of snow beginning to form around them. Suddenly, a growl sounded out from Jisung's stomach, who looked slightly ashamed for disturbing the scene.

"Really Jisung?" Minho rolled his eyes in mock exasperation, "We were having a moment there."

"Hyung," he whined, "You know I'm always hungry. That's just my stomach telling you that I need more love."

Minho sighed, standing up from the bench and brushing off the bit of snow that had settled on Jisung's hair.

"Alright, let's go and get you that convenience store rabokki I promised."

Minho gestured for Jisung's hand, Jisung giving a confused look before offering it to him. Minho laced their fingers together and stuffed their clasped hands into his jacket pocket to keep Jisung warm.

"You're soft for me aren't you," Jisung teased.

"Shut up."

"Alright, alright. You're buying me that expensive brand of rabokki, right?"

"...Yes."

  
  



End file.
